BAR CRUSHER 620C REVIEW

RAISING THE BAR

There's no mistaking the pointed lines of a Bar Crusher boat designed specifically to handle the conditions its name implies - sharp chop and big seas at shallow and sometimes, dangerous bar crossings.

Bar Crusher advertising touts 'the ride of your life' theme and while they are definitely up there when it comes to soft ride, the only sea we could find to test this claim was one generated by ourselves and the camera boat on Moreton Bay, Qld. Still, wakes of around a metre in height usually detect any gremlins in a hull and we found none of concern.
One of the noticeable traits of these hulls is their flat attitude on the water when on the plane. This, combined with a deep-set, sharp deadrise off the keel at the forefoot, allows the hull to slice through chop rather than rise above it and have the aft parts of the hull punching through the waves as is found in many trailerboats - the latter equates to a harder and often noisier travel across rough water. The deep forefoot also keeps the hull tracking straight and prevents broaching in a big following sea which is one of the dangers at some of this countries more notorious river mouths. This design is trade marked as Waveslicer while the rigid underfloor system also carries a trademark in Rigideck.

WATER BALLAST
While on its trailer, the Quickflow trade-marked water ballast technology is readily visible. This feature is not seen on many trailerboats but is a recognised stability asset on steel boats in the trawler industry. It allows many litres of water to enter the hull when settled off the plane which adds a huge amount of weight to the hull, keeping it from bouncing around. Once the throttle is pushed forward the water rushes aft, quickly jettisoning it to make the hull lighter for quick hole-shot.
With a bow designed primarily for punching steep waves, some spray is evident when a stiff wind is coming over the forequarters but in reality, this is a small sacrifice for the ride this hull offers. A set of clears and you have the best of both worlds.
The helm is gentle on the arms during high speed manoeuvring and the 620C is easily thrown around in tight turns with the aid of Hydrive hydraulic steering which is standard on this rig. The flat attitude of this hull when planing allows for quite a bit of trim up of the leg of the Yamaha 150hp four-stroke.
As tested, the Yamaha had more than enough power for this hull and produced brilliant holeshot. At full throttle of 5800rpm the speedometer registered 72kmh with fuel usage at 60.7lt/h. Dropping back to 4000rpm and 49kmh, fuel usage was 28.1lt/h and ran at 17.7lt/h at 39kmh and 3200rpm.
Workmanship on these hulls is outstanding. Perfect fillet welds look nice and neat but also offer superior strength.

COCKPIT FUNCTIONS
Climbing aboard on the rear fold-up ladder, one feels like it should be angled out more than it was. Entry into the cockpit is through a half cutaway in the transom bulkhead. This has a sliding nylon board that may be inserted as a fence and removed and used as a bait cutting board. A full-beam width bench seat folds up and also blocks the step-through aperture alleviating the need for the door insert. A removable cutting board is secured into the top of the bait preparation table which has a drain hose that leads down into the burley bucket recessed into the starboard side of the outer checkerplate platform. It can be removed for emptying and cleaning. Above this, the livebait tank is built-in with a stained Perspex lid.
Inside the cockpit, the deck is fully checkerplate and features a killtank with removable lid toward the stern; the drain hole for this exits into the Quickflow water sleeve. Aft of this, a rebate in the deck holds the bilge pump but also a stopcock on the water pickup for the deckwash and livebait tank pump.
With the rear lounge base folded down one may access the pair of standard size batteries in a compartment with enough room for an extra battery as well.
Two 120amp/h batteries would fit in this compartment as an option to three regular-sized power supplies (the isolator switch is located here also).
The sidepockets are uninterrupted all the way through to the helm bulkhead.
The swivel sliding seating here is comfortable atop modules that have stowage within and accessible from the front side.
Standalone foot stools are welded to the deck, and the V-berth in the cabin has the option of an infill over the leg well for more sleeping space.
Bar Crusher's feature large cuddy roof hatches to allow big torso's through to the ground tackle. The test boat was fitted with Stress Free's drum anchor winch which was neatly rebated into the anchor well. With the SARCA anchor retrieved and under tension against two sections of the down-turned bowrail, it made for a solid and noiseless fitting, rather than rattling chains and hardware when travelling over chop.

PRACTICAL TOP
The topside has had a lot of practical thought go into it also. The entire alloy top and supporting rails can be folded back into the cabin allowing the boat to be stored under low car/boat ports once the clears have been unclipped.
Nothing new here but the forward section of the hardtop lowers on gas struts and is attachable to the top of the windscreen. This reduces wind resistance and stops wind pressure on the top section when being towed on the highway. That's got to be good for the hip pocket at the fuel bowser.
While the dash is neatly fitted with Yamaha's instrumentation and Humminbird electronics, there is ample room on the flat tray top behind the dashboard fascia for large gimbal-mounted instruments behind the low windscreen. For the type of work this boat is designed for, the low screen offers the advantage of uninterrupted views of the waves and the water between when trying to gauge depth via the water colour on the bar. A salted screen from a day offshore is a nightmare on the East Coast when travelling home into the sun. Much of the looming bar is not visible through a screen in that condition unless you have wipers and washers fitted.
The trailer under the test boat has been constructed with a mix of nylon skids and rocker rollers. It was easy to launch and drive back on with minimum fuss.
You will be able to tow this rig with the likes of a Mitsubishi Pajero or other medium-sized four-wheel drives.

WHAT WE LIKED
Fix down hard top arrangement for less wind resistance when towing
Anchor winch set-up very neat
Quickflow ballast system an asset

NOT SO MUCH
More angle required on boarding ladder

Specifications: Bar Crusher 620C

HOW MUCH?
Price as tested:                $66,500
Options fitted:                 Colour side paint, and Humminbird electronics
Priced from:                    $62,430

GENERAL
Material:                          Pre-stressed plate aluminium
Length overall:                 6.7m
Beam:                     2.35m
Deadrise:                         20º
Hull draft:                        400mm (dead in the water)
Weight:                           1750kg (BMT dry weight)

CAPACITIES
Fuel:                               200lt
Rec. max. HP:                             175
Rec. max. transom weight: 240kg
People berthed:               2
People day:                     6

ENGINE
Make/model:                   Yamaha F150AET
Type:                              Fuel injected four-cylinder four-stroke outboard
Compliance:                     OEDA VELS 3-star
Rated HP:                       150
Weight:                           216kg
Displacement:                  2670cc
Gearbox ratio:                 14:28 (2.0)
Propeller:                        3-blade 17in

SUPPLIED BY:
Stones Corner Marine,
117 Old Cleveland Road,
Stones Corner, Qld, 4120
Phone: (07) 33979766
Fax: (07) 3397 2456
Website: www.stonescornermarine.com.au
Email: wr@stonescornermarine.com.au

Originally published in TrailerBoat #225

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